In large retail stores, such as grocery stores and supermarkets, it is necessary to display stocked merchandise to the purchasing public. Merchandise displays are consequently employed to better display the merchandise as well as serve as an advertising means, such as through the use of signboards carried by the display having advertising thereon. One form of such a merchandise display is an upright, free-standing display. Such a display is normally comprised of a base typically having a pair of rearwardly set vertically extending uprights fixed thereto. These display uprights serve as supports for a plurality of shelves which are carried by the supports in vertically spaced relation, and on which the merchandise for sale is displayed.
It has been found advantageous in upright displays of this kind to provide an attractive canopy for the display. It has been known to provide this canopy with a pair of canopy uprights which are receivable in the display uprights. A rear signboard or panel is mounted to the canopy uprights and extends therebetween. There is also a front signboard assembly mounted to the canopy uprights comprising two side signboard panels which respectively extend forwardly from the canopy uprights and a front signboard panel which extends between the two side panels. A rectangular-shaped, forwardly thrusting canopy is thus provided for the merchandise display. An optional top panel, which may be in the form of a light diffuser, is often advantageously employed to finish the canopy.
A problem presented by this foregoing type of canopy for a merchandise display is that the front signboard assembly is typically provided to the merchant or distributor in separate components, i.e., the two side panels and the front panel must be properly joined or fastened together before the canopy can be attached to the canopy uprights. The merchant or distributor setting up the canopy must consequently spend some time and effort in assembling the front signboard assembly of the canopy. This problem is multiplied by the variety of front as well as rear signboards which may be interchangeably employed with a particular merchandising display, depending upon the type of merchandise which is being shown on the display at a given time.
It would therefore be advantageous if a front signboard assembly was provided to the merchant or distributor in a pre-assembled and permanently joined state to facilitate setup of the canopy as well as interchangeability of various signboards.